The Homeschool Mother's Journal - June 24, 2011

I love hearing from other mothers whose journeys are similar to mine. So I'm linking up with The Homeschool Mother's Journal on Fridays.



In my life this week...

Our football player has been off to his team camp this week, so the dynamics in the house are a little different. In other words, the empty pit is not here to feed. Our stay-at-home summer trip this week included a trip to the outlet store for Dave's Killer Bread and Bob's Red Mill which are across the street from each other. Picked up Dave's Good Seed bread at 'imperfect' prices plus buy two and get one free. Killer deal. We're trying to at least go somewhere different, see something different, or try something different each week to make up for our summer at home. That unbeatable trip to Hawaii in May cannot be topped.

In our homeschool this week...

I've started to look at the Sonlight American history year one curriculum that has been put away for H-Bob who will be in fourth grade. Time to get some initial planning done.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share...

H-Bob, who will be our fourth grader, was diagnosed with vision tracking problems at the first of the year. With therapy she has gone from barely a first grade reading level to being able to read most any book in the I-Can-Read series which is around third grade. I would encourage anyone with a reader who is struggling to consider having their eyes checked. Her 'vision' is perfect and most optometrists don't checking for eye teaming. But oh what improvement she has made now that it has been identified.

I am inspired by...

There appears to be hope for Big Guy who had a successful week at his football camp. A few bumps and bruises, which are nothing in his life, but his ACL repair held up and his foot seemed to be okay. We just might go overboard with enthusiasm here with his last year of high school football now that it appears he's good to go in order to play.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing...

Hubby and I went out today to watch Big Guy scrimmage at his football camp...seems like it's all about him this week :) Nice to just get away without anyone else tagging along. I even had a purchased latte this morning.

My favorite thing this week was...

Even though the weather struggles to get above 70 degrees, parts of the garden are doing so well. That makes me smile. Lettuce, greens, a few strawberries, radishes, green onions, herbs. Great to have that available to use at any given moment.

What’s working/not working for us...

I've taken a look at the bare minimums I feel need to be done around the house during the day, so that if we take off somewhere or I spend more than the usual amount of time on a project, I still feel like we're staying at 'survival' levels.

Questions/thoughts I have...

We have accumulated a fairly good sized pile of things in our garage...pending a garage sale. But will we ever have one? Should we just haul it to Goodwill? Then I think perhaps some stuff should go on CraigsList. Why is it so hard to part with stuff after you realize you no longer need it? It should be a way at looking at any purchase you make realizing that when you're done with it, you shouldn't expect any value from it at the end.

Things I’m working on...

Each day I tackle one drawer or cabinet in the kitchen to purge and thoroughly clean out. The tortoise wins the race! And this method is working. The kitchen is almost finished. By the end of summer, I'll feel like I've accomplished a major job throughout the house.

I’m reading...

Determined to start reading those library books!

I’m cooking...

Hubby took some clients out sturgeon fishing this week and brought home his share of sturgeon. It's a great white meat fish similar to halibut. Takes on about any flavor you wish.

I’m praying for..

I'm going to be thankful...and not ask for anything else...that Big Guy came through his football camp unscathed.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

A proud mama moment when Big Guy received his All Team award at the closing ceremony of his football camp today. It's been a long haul in coming. Yep, he's the big redhead.







Enjoy your weekend!

Protect That Head. Get a Brain Pad

This post probably won't grab your attention unless you have an athlete at home. But if you do, listen up. I just ran across something that makes me feel a whole lot better about my son's high school football career...the Brain Pad. At first I though it was a helmet insert, but no, it's a mouth guard with a space built into the back of it to pad the mandibular area of the jaw with air space in the event of impact.

photo credit BrainPad.com

Why the big deal? Our son during a routine spring football practice took a shot to the jaw last week. The hit was enough to give him a headache that worsened through practice and was still there the next morning. I contacted the team's athletic trainer who administered the ImPACT test and confirmed he had a slight concussion. Wow. That's not good. But at least it was caught. And by the way, if your athlete's school does not have access to ImPACT testing, I highly recommend you do some investigative work yourself and present your findings in support of the testing to your school. It's that important. But onward...

This mouth guard is specifically intended to absorb 40% of the shock in a hit resulting in less jarring to the brain. Now you are probably wondering why I allow my son to put on some gear and do battle on a hard surface against other teen boys who at times can be larger than him. Well, unless you have a husband or son that plays football, it will do me no good to try and convince you that I'm not crazy. We'll save the topic of actually playing football for later. But my son is going to go out and do battle, he is going to have the best gear possible. He has his own helmet...top of the line and air cushioned...but it sounds like this revolutionary mouth guard is the missing piece. I'm just amazed that I had never heard of it before.

photo credit BrainPad.com

I read the testimonials which included bull riders being trampled and thrown...but no concussion. Teams who have outfitted all of their players and had a significant reduction in concussions. Extreme sports from snowboarding to martial arts to BMWX riders. All the same. It works. If it is all so true, then coaches should make every effort to have this type of protection in every kid's mouth all the time.

So Big Guy is cleared to participate in his team football camp this week, and after some running around to locate him one at the last minute...thank you Sports Authority, he will be testing it out. To be sure, I will be anxious to hear if it also reduces the headaches he normally experiences after practice as the manufacturer of the mouth guard indicates it will. His experience will certainly be relayed to the parents, players, and coaches with our recommendations.

So now it's your turn. Do you have an athlete at home that plays contact sports? Do you go out of your way to make sure you have researched the latest in safety equipment for him or her? I'd love to hear what finds you may have uncovered.

Celebrating the 'Big Guy'

Ever wonder how you have arrived at the time in your life that you are at now? How did it happen so quickly? Well we’re there. Our second-born child, Big Guy, is 17 and just finished up his last year as a junior in high school this week. We’re looking at one more year with him at home before he heads for college, pre-med and collegiate football (he hopes) bound.



Big Guy was always was such a man-child so to speak. Very grown up for his age. Always a deep thinker. His mind cranking out all sorts of stuff while I was prattling away with his school lessons. I’m somewhat not surprised that he decided that he wants a challenging career. He didn’t think he would be happy just sitting around behind a desk or letting his brain sit idle somewhere. Perhaps all that time he spent with either an action figure in each hand or a sword or stick was very productive for him. So anesthesiologist it is for him at the present.



Today he ranks number 10 in a class of 540 at our public high school. I’ll just raise my hand now and give credit to home schooling for that. Up until the last three years, he was schooled at home in our rather eclectic fashion based on Sonlight history program with some Charlotte Mason and Classical Education thrown in for good measure. It must have worked for him. I was tickled pink when he got his SAT scores back…scoring higher than the state or his high school average in the writing category. This was a boy that did not fit with a traditional writing program. His daily journals consisted of very little writing and a lot of action drawings. But I believe that by letting his mind grow and experience things, he was able to eventually form words for what was rattling around up there in his head.



In fact the other day he commented that the thing he could not stand the most at the high school were kids who were throwing away their opportunity to be someone. No motivation. No vision. No reason to get up and do something with their lives. I can only thank homeshooling for showing him that learning is not something to be done for a teacher but is rather an investment in your future. Leave that to your average 17-year-old to figure out.



So what will his senior year look like? Football has been his passion. He has played offensively and defensively on teams that have won divisional youth championships. He suited up for the varsity playoff game and got some special teams time as a freshmen.



He held the record for the most tackles his sophomore year as a varsity player until the fateful night halfway through the season when he was hit by friendly fire during a tackle after the whistle was blown. It blew out his knee which resulted in an ACL reconstruction. A lot of physical therapy later, he pulled himself back into shape for his junior year. We traveled out of town for their first varsity game of the season. That first play back on the field with his knee in a brace was a nerve wracking one for me. Pretty sure I was holding my breath. He got in his tackle and was exuberant. He was in his element again. I believe it was the third play, and right before our unbelieving eyes, a linebacker of epic proportions on the other team came down on his foot as he was pushing off on the turf. You could immediately see that something had happened. It was deja vu all over again. Just that sick feeling. This news was unimaginable, really...a uncommon Lisfranc fracture to the mid foot. There was to be surgery to fix it and no weight bearing AT ALL for six weeks. That equated to crutches while toting his 50 lb. backpack around a giant campus. Learning to use his foot again. Second surgery to remove the hardware. Physical therapy to gain back its strength.



So...to say the least, we are holding our breath for his senior year. The Lord for sure knows what is in store for this talented child...man, now I guess. But I believe He has a great plan for Big Guy's life, and he has just been taking this time to teach him these incredible lessons in patience and perseverance. For sure though, we will all be a nervous wreck come September again.



So we will enjoy our summer together. Plan senior pictures. Post information on athletic recruitment sites. Look over colleges. Relish his excitement over football practice with a new head coach. Encourage his hanging out with his buddies that he has played with since fourth grade. Letting him be a kid a little bit longer. He’s earned it. But they sure do grow up fast.

ACL Post-Surgery Rehabilitation

November 12, 2009

Being up and and awake off and on during the night takes a toll on us older people I tell you. But it's to be expected. DS15 seemed fully recovered from the anesthesia by morning and was feeling significant knee pain as well as his hamstring. I kept him at two Percocet every four hours plus a dose of Valium here and there to keep his muscle tremors down. His upper thigh would just quiver away, probably due to the work down on his hamstring. He at surprisingly little in the morning but did continue to suck down liquids. Still using the urinal, he hadn't attempted getting out of bed yet. Knowing that it had to be accomplished sooner than later, I started the process. Brace on and crutches ready, he swung around to get his leg off of the bed and stand. Not anticipating the blood rush to the leg, he just about passed out from the pain while getting to the bathroom. After speaking to the nurse later on, she said that the entire getting out of bed process should take a long time to keep from experiencing that painful blood rush. DS15 firmly stated that would be the last attempt out of bed for that day. The surgeon also called and acknowledged that as people experience different levels of post-op pain it was likely that he couldn't begin his post-op exercises that day. He did want him to be sure to run the Game Ready 30 minutes out of each hour during the day and do his ankle rolls and flexes every hour however. A lot of TV, listening to his English audio book assignment and visits from two friends were the highlight of the day. He continued to need the two Percocet every four hours which exceeds the recommended dose, but I'm figuring he should be able to drop down a little tomorrow...I hope.

November 13, 2009

Well so far the highlight of today's recovery would include staying within the maximum allowed pain killers, and at least so far, getting DS15 to stand with his crutches and not pass out. It would appear that the Percocet is making him terribly dizzy as his head spins whenever he stands. I've changed his dosage so that he's taking one every three hours instead of two lasting for six hours. Hopefully that will help with the brain fog and queasiness as well. He attempted to work on some school homework assignments, but just can't seem to pull lit off.

November 14, 2009

Last night we worked again on getting DS15 to get out of bed and use his crutches. No luck. The pain he is feeling once standing is just too much he says. Now I'm a little frustrated. His buddy who had his surgery the day before his has been up and about and even on the sidelines watching the team's playoff game last night. I'm not sure why such different outcomes other than DS15 also had meniscus repairs done as well. He's frustrated that the brace is pressing in all the wrong spots...that the knee feels like it's going to explode....that he's going to damage something. DH said he's going to just have to suck it up and work through the pain to get moving again. Quite unfortunate. Thought it would have gone much smoother than this.

I went back to some of the sites that used great demonstrations of how the ACL reconstruction with a hamstring autograph are performed and can see where the pain in originating from that DS15 is experiencing. The worst place is on the inside below his knee where the new ligament was attached to the bone. If you click on KNEE, then PROCEDURES, and then ACL RECONSTRUCTION WITH HAMSTRING you'll see what I mean. It's got to hurt.

November 15, 2009

More sleeping away the day by DS15. By mid morning though I roused him enough to get a start on his homework assignments from last week. It's hard to teach oneself precalculus when you miss your teacher's lecture, so we looked around on youtube.com and found some college professors with whiteboard demonstrations that were quite helpful to him. He did get up and make it around on his crutches after that which was great to see. He had a friend stop by in the late afternoon which was motivation enough to try to get up the stairs to his gaming system. It just about wiped him out...which is so surprising since he's a top-notch, fit athlete...but he made it. I hauled up the icing machine and figured he was up there to stay for the night. Today was also the day to unwrap his knee which we did...carefully. He was a little apprehensive removing the layers of gauze for fear of catching his stitches. A photo of the knee would have been great right here, but he was not going to have it. No bruising but still swelling. There was a large angled stitched incision below the knee and two good sized ones on the knee as well as several smaller ones above. There hadn't been excessive drainage which I'm guessing was good. And now he was free to take a shower.

November 16, 2009

School was on the agenda for today, but when DS15 woke up, he realized that he hadn't taken any Percocet since noon the day before. By morning his knee was killing him. He also apparently didn't sleep well that night. So dosed him up and sent him back to bed for awhile to see if he could get past the pain. I woke him up a few hours later and suggested that he try to catch the last half of his third morning class and try out the rest of the school day which seemed like a good idea to him. On his way home from school he found out that a couple of friends were going to stop by. Good idea on the morale end of things, but bad idea considering how wiped out he was from just that much hauling himself and his 50 lb. backpack around school on crutches. After they left, he tried to work on more school work but said he felt absolutely awful...freezing cold...just yucky. I took his temperature since it sounded like he was having chills. But no, temperature was 98.6 orally. So off to bed he was sent. I made sure to wake up around 1 a.m. to give him another Percocet so that he could wake up and get moving in the morning.


November 17, 2009

Nothing ever goes as planned. About 6:00 a.m. DS15 called me in to say that he felt miserable. I took his temperature and this time it was 99.1. He was somewhat nauseated, didn't sleep well, and his knee ached. I can tell the difference in how his knee feels when he's not home all day to use the icing machine. He made it downstairs and plopped on the couch to promptly fall asleep. I put in a call to the doctor on call at the orthopedic office. When he called back he didn't think that the fever was associated with his knee surgery as the site looked clear when I had removed the wraps to look at it that morning. He didn't really have an answer for me. Maybe a flu bug. Fine thing to try to recover from surgery and get nailed by something on top, but it would make sense that your body has been stressed and your immune system is down. It was early enough that after falling asleep for awhile he actually got up and said he wanted to make it to school to catch his morning classes that he hadn't been to since last Tuesday. So feeling bad for him, I took him to school. By that time his temperature was normal, so I wasn't sure what to think. Could be that by his finally getting up and around and tackling quite a bit of activity yesterday that his system was flushing out all the accumulated toxins that had been lying around not going anywhere while he was fairly immobile. That will make you feel run down and feverish. As figured, I got a call after his third class with a call to pick him up. He came home and went to bed with the ice machine strapped to his leg so that I could run it every hour while he was asleep. He was out for the rest of the day until after dinner when he roused and again tried to tackle his school work. And then off to bed again.

November 18, 2009

Well today DS15 made it off to school on time and apparently felt okay. He had DH take him up there so I didn't check in with him to see how he was feeling.

November 19, 2009

Post-op appointment with Dr. Feinblatt today. Stitches were removed. Order for physical therapy given. More Percocet prescribed. Doctor seemed happy with what he saw other than he thought there could be a little more leg extension at this point. Physical therapy will take care of that. Once the leg gets straight enough that DS15 can put sufficient pressure on it and still be stable, the crutches can go away. The brace however will remain locked at 90 degrees and is to be worn at all times. Xrays of the knee were taken to confirm that bone growth was progressing as expected to anchor the hardware in the knee holding the new graft in place.

November 20, 2009

So thankful for physical therapists who know your situation on a level to be concerned. Even though we just dropped off the order for therapy, they did not want DS15 going the entire weekend without squeezing him in today to evaluate his knee and get him started on exercises to trigger those quads into responding and getting that knee straighter. With information and incentive, DS15 will hopefully be off the crutches this weekend.

November 21, 2009

Well DS15 decided that there will be no more crutches. He's walking with quite a limp, not so much from pain, as from not getting the extension he needs. But he's determined to work enough this weekend on extension that he will not need those crutches to attend school on Monday. The ache in the knee still drives him to take his Percocet though we're cutting it back to a half tablet as needed.

November 25, 2009

Hard to believe it's been two weeks since the surgery. No crutches. Pain meds down to bare minimum. Icing machine returned to supplier. Physical therapy underway. This day was hard to see even a week ago. Therapist feels DS15 is where he should be based on the surgery date even though he seemed to be a little behind initially. Due to the 90 degree lock on the knee brace, his progress will be a little slower than that of his buddy, but it's great to see the two of them being able to "do time" together. DS15 met an 8th grade football player he knew in at the physical therapist today who had just had his surgery last week...another ACL tear. He had the unfortunate situation of being too young to have a routine ACL reconstruction as his growth plates were still active. Apparently it was a bit of an experimental surgery, but according to DS15, he has stitches all over the knee and it looks miserable. With another varsity football player who had meniscus surgery today, that brings the known total knee surgeries from this year's football season from the Oregon City area to five. Five is a lot for a town our size.

ACL Surgery

November 11, 2009

Surgery day. Checked in at 8:00 a.m. and found out that previous surgery went quicker than anticipated and were somewhat rushed through check-in and into day surgery. Wasn't long before ready and waiting in the operating room holding area. The GameReady cooling machine representative went over the procedure for running the equipment with us while we were waiting. Once the anesthesiologist arrived ready to give the femoral block, we were excused to wait in the day-surgery waiting room. The desk clerk let us know that surgery began at 10:31 a.m. Okay, we figured. Hour and one-half anticipated surgery meant that we should see Dr. Feinblatt around 12:00 noon. Twelve-thirty came, and still no surgeon. I checked in with the day-surgery clerk, but she had not heard anything. By about 12:45 p.m. a call came into the desk, and I was called to take a phone call from the surgery nurse. Now that will get you wondering, I tell you. But she simply was calling to inform us that everything was going well and it would be 15 to 20 minutes until the surgery was wrapped up. Sure enough, about 1:15 p.m. or so Dr. Feinblatt was there to speak with us. Once inside the knee they discovered meniscus damage that needed both trimmed and repaired (two stitches). He showed us the color photos from the arthroscopic surgery though some photos were rather ambiguous to us.

It was after 3:00 p.m. before they asked us to return to day surgery where DS15 would be returning shortly from recovery. Everyone was in a bit of a panic when he returned as he apparently was reacting to the Demerol given in recovery as he was covered with a red rash. It was already beginning to fade and within 30 minutes it was gone. However, since any reaction to an anesthesia is cause for alarm, the nursing staff made sure we understood to always list Demerol as an allergic substance for DS15. The poor guy was still pretty out of it and feeling nauseous. He was on oxygen and hooked up to the GameReady which was already icing his knee. His hamstring harvest site felt sore he said but his knee felt fine thanks to the femoral block. A little Percocet took the edge off even though it made him more sick to his stomach. He stayed too groggy to communicate much until his oxygen level dipped below 93 and sent the alarm off. That seemed to snap him awake for awhile. They removed the oxygen tubes so that he could actually get his own air in which helped considerably. But by about that time, all the IV liquids were hitting him and he requested to use the bathroom. Trouble with that was he wasn't ready to get out of the bed yet either, so...portable urinal time. His pain was increasing to they popped him another Percocet. Closer to 5:00 p.m. they decided he was ready to start the check out process because he was just going to continue to be drowsy the rest of the night. With some difficulty we got him dressed, shoes on, and disconnected from the GameReady. Using crutches he got up to use the bathroom again but just about passed out. Too quick to his feet they said, and the nurses sent him back to bed to rest for a bit. But eventually he was back up and in the wheelchair heading for the van. Since he was still feeling queasy, they left us with a plastic barf bag.

Thanks to the winding back roads home in the dark, about the time we pulled into the driveway, he needed that bag and unloaded. He hobbled into the house and plopped down the best he could in our downstairs bedroom. One Percocet every three house seemed to do fine for him since the block was still working, even to the point there was numbness along the front of his leg and part of his feet. Since that foot was so cold, I spent time rubbing it to get his circulation going off and on all evening. The icing machine circulates 40 degree water around the knee and that translates into cold extremities as well. I slept on the downstairs couch to be within hearing distance and to be able to get up with my alarm and get his Percocet into him at regular intervals. About 3:00 a.m. he said his block was beginning to wear off so we upped his dosage to two Percocet. And so it went all night, dosing with two every four hours and running the GameReady whenever I was up to set the machine for another 30 minute stint.

ACL Reconstruction Pre-Surgery Rehabilitation

October 16, 2009

Well it took until today to fit in an appointment at North Lake Physical Therapy North Lake Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation where Big Country has gone before for rehab. After a thorough evaluation, their plan includes an exercise bike to get the motion and strength going again. Measuring his thigh they noted that he had already lost two inches in its girth from inactivity. Amazing, but it did reflect two weeks of inactivity. Along with the three times per week therapy sessions, he was given a pass to the Nautilus club where the physical therapist practice operates out of and told to come in on the other off days and do specific work on his own to hasten the conditioning of the knee. It was interesting to hear them talk of the only way that the fluid and blood cane be removed from the knee allowing it to regain its full movement is by the lymph system. Now what exactly is the lymph system? Time for some more research.

October 17, 2009

Did some research on the lymph system today. Did you know it is second in importance to your blood stream? Lymph is the fluid that surrounds your cells. Its job it to take away toxins and wastes and run through your lymph nodes set up along the system and ultimately through the liver. Through exposure to environmental toxins, excessive wastes being handled by the lymph system, and accumulation of “junk” in your body, your lymph system can become overworked and the nodes plugged. As well, your liver may be under strain from filtering all of this garbage. The lymph system is also your body’s carrier system for the immune system as well. A simple Google search turned up loads of information. It was enough information that I decided to visit our local General Nutrition Center and purchase an herbal liver support nutritional supplement containing primarily milk thistle, an herb which has been used for liver cleansing for ages. My thought is to get DS15’s lymph system healthy and free from obstructions so that it can do its job of ridding his knee of the pooled blood and fluids as efficiently as possible. A detox of his liver will make sure that it’s running well too.

October 19, 2009

The physical therapist today asked DS15 which ACL reconstruction he was going to have: patella, hamstring, or cadaver. What? Not being as informed as I should have been at this point in the game, I had just assumed the ligament would be stitched back up…similar to how DH’s was 18 years ago when he tore his Achilles tendon. Back to Google or more accurately, Swagbucks. Yes, there are three methods, and they are reconstructions. You do not repair an ACL. It is replaced from either the middle third of your patella tendon along with bone pieces at either end or a hamstring tendon is removed. Using a frozen cadaver part is sort of a last resort option, so I didn’t research that any further. There doesn’t seem to be a large consensus as to whether the patella or hamstring reconstruction are preferred. DS15 has some patella tendinitis in the same knee, so I’m guessing that might not be the best option for him. More questions for the surgeon when we meet on November 3rd I guess.

October 23, 2009

Physical therapy appointments every day after school are getting old at least on my end as they are taking a huge chunk out of the day. Not really enough time to go home…and a needless use of gas…but I can only go to Fred Meyers so many times a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday DS15’s meeting with the therapist and goes through their routine. The other days of the weeks he goes in and uses a stationary bike to work his knee. In one week, it has straightened considerably. It looks like he should be ready when we talk to the surgeon next week. A fellow varsity football player, also a sophomore, injured his knee during the last football game. They are wondering if he damaged any of his ligaments as well.

October 24, 2009

Being a bit of a research junkie, I decided to do a YouTube search for ACL reconstruction. These videos are not for the faint of heart, but I did find a really nice surgery animation site showing a patella reconstruction. Very, very informative. It also looks like some surgery centers use a continuous motion machine for 23 out of the first 24 hours following the surgery to slowly move the new ligament immediately after surgery. That would appear to me that an overnight stay at the hospital would be required. Yes, more questions for that November appointment.


October 28, 2009

DS15 told me that Luke did tear his ACL. They were both at the physical therapists office today riding the stationary bike together. How sad/pathetic/??? is that. There is also a freshman player that tore his ACL and is rehabilitating from his surgery right now. What a common injury for such young kids. A friend stopping by the house today also proceeded to tell me about his ACL tear and of another common friend of ours who had reconstruction surgery as well. One of them used the patella method and the other the hamstring. It seems that taking the ligament from the patella seems to produce a little more pain during recovery but not that much of a difference.

October 30, 2009

Today we meet with the physical therapist for the last time before meeting with the orthopedic surgeon to determine whether DS15’s knee is in shape for the surgery. By now I don’t even notice any hesitation is his gait, and he showed me that he has just about full range of motion. We’ll see what the therapist has to say tonight.

October 31, 2009

Received a clean bill of health and okay to perform surgery on the ACL from the physical therapist yesterday. There is still a need to keep the knee moving on the stationary bike all weekend and Monday before meeting with Dr. Feinblatt on Tuesday after school. DS15 happened to be at the therapist at the same time after school with Luke and found out that his ACL reconstruction surgery is scheduled with Dr. McWeeney on November 10. A great day to have it as the following day is a school holiday. Wouldn’t that be a hoot if the boys could have surgery the same day, recover in the same hospital room, and work their therapy sessions together. I will certainly be asking at Tuesday’s appointment.

November 1, 2009

DS15 remembered to tell me that the therapist had picked up a magazine to show the boys during their appointment on Friday. It was an article showing how the hamstring tendons are harvested in preparation for ACL reconstruction. Of course the article came with an abundance of photographs. Apparently it was a little more graphic than the boys wanted to see!

November 3, 2009

Remembered to call into high school attendance office to excuse DS15 at 1:50 p.m. so that we can make it on time to his appointment with Dr. Feinblatt.

Interesting information from the surgeon. But first things first. Surgery is scheduled for November 11 with an 8 a.m. sharp check in. Normal protocol of no food or drink after midnight. That will be fun for DS15. We talked about the options for the reconstruction: harvesting his own hamstring tendon or using a frozen tendon from a donor cadaver. The latter risk runs a 1 in 1.2 million chance of posing the risk of contracting hepatitis or HIV. Why would anyone use that option? As it turns out, statistics show that there can be a 10-20% loss of hamstring strength in the leg that had the tendon harvested. In a young person they are known to regenerate to some extent but are usually not as strong as the original. Dr. Feinblatt jokingly referred to it as the starfish syndrome. We will obviously do some more research in that department before making the final decision. Other than that, the surgery is done on an outpatient basis, and DS15 will be sent home with an ice-type brace (know there is a technical term for it) that will circulate cooling for the knee to reduce swelling. Dr. Feinblatt will also administer a femoral block in that leg to reduce the associated pain upon coming out of surgery. DS15 will be using crutches until the next post-op appointment and can plan on being medicated up for a few days...hence a surgery on a no-school holiday resulting in missing the two following school days and then having an additional two days from the weekend to recuperate before heading back to school on Monday. No rest for the weary.

November 5, 2009

DH has talked to quite a few people over the last few days and has come to the conclusion that most individuals, including the physical therapist that is currently working with DS15, that athletes who are strong to begin with do not seem to suffer from any hamstring weakness or slowness in speed after the reconstruction. The therapist also commented on how they have been really strengthening the two boys' hamstrings on the affected leg for that very purpose to have them in top shape before the hamstrings are harvested. With that in mind, there seems to be no reason to opt for the cadaver tendon.

November 6, 2009

The pre-op from the hospital called today to give me the low-down on what to expect the day of surgery. There were reminders to bring DS15's photo ID, crutches, and leg brace as well as no food or drink after midnight. She talked about the check-in procedure and where each step of the stay would take place. Anesthesia these days does not include Demerol as it did when I had my wisdom teeth taken out, and apparently you wake from surgery just about the time they withdraw the medication from your IV. Dr. Feinblatt will be giving a femoral block which will keep that leg numb for anywhere from 8-30 hours depending on how fast his body metabolizes the drug. After that she said it is extremely important to give him pain medication the minute he starts to feel pain so that he can keep his 1-10 scale at about a 3. She said he will be able to negotiate stairs but would be best off staying on just one level. As I will still be doing school with the girls upstairs and his room doesn't have a TV, I think I will have him stay in our downstairs bedroom with access to a TV and DVD player and bathroom just a few feet away and plenty of quiet. That way he'll also have someone close to fetch and carry for him in the middle of the night. Due to H1N1 threats, only two visitors are allowed per patient which will put a bit of a kink in our family and with his friends, but we'll just have to trade off and on throughout the day I guess.

ACL Tear and Meniscus Damage Injury and Diagnosis

October 2, 2009

After fighting the flu this week, Big Country was pretty anxious to be able to play in the varsity football game this evening. He had managed to only miss one practice this week and was feeling better by Friday, raring to go. Just before half time, Big Country went in for a tackle. Seeing that the player was already down with a pile on top, he began to swing his leg to jump over the stack of tangled players. As his right leg came up, he was hit by friendly fire...a team mate going in for the same tackle dove towards the pile mistakenly tagging Big Country on the outside of his left knee with a helmet shot. Pop went the knee and Big Country hit the ground...knowing that something was not right.

As we were sitting on the visitor's stands fairly low, I couldn't see past the line of players to actually see the play. I had been attempting to video tape the game from my poor position and was about to the point of bagging it since it was too hard to see over the sidelines. Casually putting away the camera, I wasn't even aware of the delay of game and finally hearing the mention of who #44 was around me. Suddenly I realized they were talking about a downed player...Big Country. Looking up I could see the field taking a knee and then began to get worried. Camo Queen who was watching the game jumped up in a flash to tear down to the tape around the field to see if it indeed was Big Country. I stayed put with H-Bob and maneuvered myself so I could see what was happening on the field.

The trainer for the team had Big Country stretched out flat and was adjusting his leg, obviously accessing the damage. They finally helped him up, and he hobbled over to the sidelines. Great! An obvious injury. As typical he was taped up with ice and had a seat along the edge of the field. Within minutes, the whistle blew for half time, and he slowly walked off the field with the team.

By the time they returned from half time, Big Country was definitely having trouble walking...lagging way behind the team which began to bother me a bit. It didn't look like just a bad bruise or strain. After the game, which by the way had the most exciting finish a high school team could ask for, I spoke at length with the trainer. She had performed several tests on the field immediately after the hit which are valuable in determining if there had been ligament damage...tests that are more difficult to perform later once swelling starts in. She couldn't come to any conclusions that would positively indicate a torn ligament and had hopes that he would be 100% the following day after some significant icing this evening. With instructions to check in with her after school on Monday, we went home.

October 3, 2009

As the weekend progressed, Big Country elevated and iced his knee continually. The swelling was definitely becoming an issue and his greatest complaint was his inability to straighten his leg. The motion just wasn't there. Forcing it in either direction caused pain, and interestingly enough the only pain he even had associated with the injury. Sunday came and went and there was no improvement. This perhaps was not a simple bruise or strain.

October 5, 2009

As the health of Big Country's knees are the lifeblood of his hopes to some day play Division I or II football as well as a body part you don't want to deteriorate early in "old age", I begged for an immediate appointment with our local orthopedic office, Oregon Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Clinic whom we have gotten to know quite well. An appointment for Tuesday was scheduled. We visited with the high school trainer after a long line of athletes streamed into her office for various tapings and injury evaluations. We are fortunate to have an on-site trainer available after school and present at games to be there to assist the coaches in evaluating injuries and coordinating rehabilitation between the coaches and the athletes’ doctors. Melissa of ProActive Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy went through another set of evaluation tests and provided us with a more specific speculation...a damaged meniscus (knee cartilage). She was thankful that he had an appointment already scheduled with the doctor as his situation definitely warranted further investigation.

October 6, 2009

Today I hauled Big Country off to visit with Dr. Feinblatt of Oregon Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Clinic to go over the injury to his knee and hopefully find some answers as to why there had been no lessening of his swelling and to see what his consensus was as to the outlook. As expected, he gave a thorough exam of the leg and sent Big Country down the hall for an x-ray. I've learned to bring plenty of reading material with me on appointments like these as you never know exactly how long you'll be there. Today was no exception. With x-rays in hand, Dr. Feinblatt went over them with us and showed where they did not indicate any bone chips or obvious impediments that would affect Big Country's ability to straighten his knee. His conclusion concurred with Melissa's that there was probably damage to the meniscus, and that perhaps a flap of the torn cartilage was flipped up as often occurs keeping the knee from operating properly on a mechanical level. He gave us the option of scheduling surgery or performing an MRI to get a better look at the soft tissue structures before going in. We chose the MRI as that would most conclusive. He hoped that a MRI could be performed that week and asked us to schedule a return appointment in one week. And the big bomb...the surgeon wanted Big Country on crutches...no weight on the knee at all...in the event pressure could further damage the torn meniscus.

So the phone calls began...to the insurance company, to the MRI facility to determine their insurance participation, back to the insurance company, to my husband who was out of town hunting, to the orthopedic office, and on it went. Finally with a bit of persistence, I had a MRI scheduled for the next day.

October 7, 2009

Neither Big Country nor I had any idea what is involved with an MRI and so went to the appointment after school pretty blind. We were just happy to have it performed soon enough so that the scheduled appointment with the surgeon would not have to be postponed. The timing of the appointment was also critical as Big Country didn't want to miss any school realizing how hard it is to make up missed lectures and notes in his AP classes, and we were able to get one late enough in the day and at a time that DH could also attend once he returned to town. After confirming the Big Country had no metal parts in his body, which we got a big laugh out of, they took him off for his scan. Apparently they needed to straighten his knee in order to strap it into place, but not wanting to tell them how difficult it was to straighten it, Big Country gritted his teeth and endured the pain as it was in the brace for the three or five minutes the scan took hoping he wouldn't pass out. He did admit though that he could move it a little bit further after that. Odd I thought. Perhaps they pushed the torn meniscus out of the way. One could only hope.

October 8, 2009

Getting along on crutches at high school with a 50 pound back pack is not fun for Big Country. Now he complains of terribly sore arm pits. But he did get an elevator key pass so that he can negotiate getting to the second level of the school for classes. Fortunately we have a medical supply source locally, so after dropping him off at football practice...yes, injured players still attend all practices...I purchased a set of fleece arm pads for the crutches. They had belonged to DH after his Achilles tendon surgery about 18 years ago and were pretty deteriorated. Fluffy fleece pads on a football player's crutches? Yes, he had to take a lot of guff for that one.

October 9, 2009

Big Country and I are both tired of these crutches now. Somewhere, somehow the deteriorated foam pads slipped off the crutches without his knowledge, so off to the medical supply store again. Fortunately, they had a single package of replacement parts in stock but in two different sizes. Taking a wild gamble, I purchased the set I thought would fit and headed off to doctor up the crutches. The sales associate did have some good advice about the height of the crutches though and arm pain. The height should never touch the underside of the arm and the hand piece should fall about the wrist area. Big Country's were adjusted all wrong. So here's hoping for a better fit and a little more comfort.

October 10, 2009

With the weekend here, it was time for a little research homework and see what all this meniscus damage could mean. It would appear that a meniscus tear can be fixed pretty simply. Once you start talking about it with people, they have either had the surgery performed on themselves or know of someone personally who has. If the damage is to the front, live tissue of the meniscus, however, it needs repair and that repair takes time. Time to heal, time to rehab, and time away from athletics. Big Country was not liking the sound of that option.

October 12, 2009

The big day. The reading of the MRI. It rather felt like you were about to go before a judge and be handed your sentence hoping it would be a light one. Dr. Feinblatt pulled up the MRI on his computer screen, which is a pretty impressive way to look at an MRI if you ask me. He showed us the meniscus and how there appeared to be no damage at all. Perfectly intact. We all exchanged glances and gave a big sigh of relief. Then there came the BUT word. "But it would appear that his ACL is torn." What! How could that be! I would have loved to have had our expressions video taped. I'm sure they would have been a text book example of a "fallen countenance". Dr. Feinblatt went on to show us in detail where the two stumps of the ACL were and that the ligament was no longer attached. He looked at the two exterior ligaments and found that they were perfectly fine. It was hard to find the right questions to ask. He did a pretty good job of filling in the blanks. Surgery was optional. Rehabilitation and time to get back into athletics could be up to nine or even twelve months. Forty percent of ACL surgeries do not result in 100% pre-injury performance. Not a pretty picture. It was pretty obvious to all of us that surgery would be necessary to reconstruct the ligament. It was obvious that Big Country would miss the remainder of the football season and that he would not be playing varsity basketball this winter either. And that there would be a lot of appointments and physical therapy down the road.

Dr. Feinblatt explained that before the surgery would be performed, he would want Big Country to attend physical therapy sessions three times a week for the next three weeks so that the fluid and blood that had accumulated in the knee at the time of injury could be removed. Full motion of the knee was necessary so that it would not be compromised before the surgery. There was some good news....no more crutches. The more movement the better. Would have been nice to know that a lot sooner! He gave Big Country a knee brace to wear for stability and as a sign for others to be aware of his injury. He must realize that high schoolers don't think twice before doing stupid stuff like chucking a backpack towards someone forgetting about their injury and possibly doing further damage. He set a follow up appointment for three weeks, and off we went feeling pretty glum.

The three-sport high school athlete

That's a mouthful you say. What does it mean? Well to our 15-year-old son it means beginning football practice in July, practicing in the heat of the summer through August with double daily practices during the last week. Practices usually run three hours a day. It means games starting in September when school starts and running through October. Because you're playing with a group of boys that have been together since the 3rd and 4th grade and have been fortunate to have wonderful coaches, it means that you come away from the season only having lost one game. Not bad. If you are lucky enough to be asked to practice and suit up with the varsity team during playoffs as he was, that means you add an extra week to the season (they lost their first round playoff game.)




During that time basketball tryouts are in full swing, and their practices begin promptly in November. Games start in December and keep going through mid-March. Now if you're 6'2" and pretty talented as our son is, you're asked to practice with the varsity team for three hours every day and even get invited to go with them on their Invitational trip to Hawaii just before Christmas. You play the freshman games and then suit up for the varsity games. You end up sitting on the bench for all but the last few minutes of each game, but hey, you might get a statistic for the record. Still not bad for a freshman whose team has won almost every one of their games for the last three or four years. The varsity team is doing pretty good as well, so there could be hope that he'll be a part of a successful playoff team. You can never forget that your practice with the team contributes to their success regardless of how much playing time you actually get.





Well, that's takes us up to where we are today...the beginning of lacrosse season. Yes, he plays that as well. Practices are actually going on now, but with basketball season still going, they'll just have to wait. I'm certain the day the varsity team finishes up the last of their games, he'll be packing his lacrosse stick to school. Games will run through mid-June and then we'll be back full circle.

So what does that mean to parents and siblings of a talented athlete? Well we do our fair share of fundraising - school budgets don't cover much of anything. We both try to make all of the games, home or away. We work snack shacks. We're part of booster clubs. We schedule family activities around games. We've also met great families that we've been close to since 4th grade. But that is his passion, and we're here for him. His hopes and ambitions include full-ride sports scholarships to the college of his dreams. Best guess is that he'll be part of the school's varsity teams for the next three years, and his exposure will grow.

Stay tuned, and someday we may be watching him on ESPN...you never can tell.